Govt policies spur housing recovery in China

Applicants at a property transaction center in Huangpu district, Shanghai on Monday. [Photo/China Daily]

Xia Mengju, 42 years old, a prospective flat-buyer in Wuhan, said the measures have certainly spurred home-buying. "I have prepared down payment for a 120-sq-m apartment, and I look forward to closing the deal by the end of this month."

Effective Tuesday, the central bank lowered the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points for all financial institutions. Large banks need to pay 17 percent RRR and small banks 15 percent.

Song Yu, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities, said in a latest research note that RRR cut will benefit the real estate market by helping reduce inventories on the back of improved liquidity.

James Macdonald, Shanghai-based head of China research with property services provider Savills, said more needs to be done to transmit the housing recovery from leading cities to lower-tier cities while ensuring first- and second-tier cities do not get overheated.

The average price of new homes in Shenzhen Guangdong province, climbed 5.41 percent month-on-month, and 52.55 percent year-on-year, to 47,248 yuan per square meter, while the corresponding price for Shanghai stayed at the January level, but still up 9 percent year-on-year, at 37,144 yuan per sq m, according to CREIS data.

Shenzhen housing authorities said they have been considering measures to curb any undue surge in housing prices, and are prepared to increase supply of affordable housing, and even indemnify such projects, if required.